The Frost Archer

Smack!

Madison slapped himself across the face.

Getting shown up by Eugene like that was worse than death.

Why hadn't he learned all those skills related to cars back then?!

For a moment, Madison actually regretted becoming famous so early.

His massive frame had already begun to stand out in high school, and plenty of college scouts had taken an interest in him.

And it wasn't just football scouts. Even more basketball scouts had their eyes on him!

All in all, he'd gotten famous too early. It was like he'd wasted his time on the streets. Fuck...

Cursing under his breath, Madison pursed his lips and made way for Eugene, watching him head to the Tyrannosaurus's front end.

Seeing Eugene steal the car-repair job, William fell silent for a moment. Then he couldn't help glancing at the two bodies in the distance before staggering over to them.

Gavin took a close look at William's feet and chuckled softly.

"Little cop, your foot looks a bit better."

"Better, my ass. He's just showing off!"

With one hand braced against the engine bay, Eugene leaned in to inspect the engine and picked up Gavin's point.

"His foot isn't broken, but it's badly bruised. I've seen plenty of injuries like that in the military."

"Don't let him fool you just because he can still hop around today. Once we've settled down and that adrenaline wears off, if he can stand tomorrow, I'll call him Daddy!"

As he spoke, Eugene sprawled across the still-warm engine and reached in to pull out the bullet lodged deep inside.

Gavin went over to the RV, sat on its steps, and leaned against the door to rest for a while.

His adrenaline had inevitably surged during the car chase. He wasn't exactly tired now, but his muscles and mind both felt a little drained.

When Winnie saw Gavin sit down, she pursed her lips, then jogged over to her mom and whispered something to her.

In the distance, William hopped over to the McLaren and first checked on its condition.

Once he confirmed it wasn't smoking yet and wasn't about to explode, he climbed inside and started searching.

At the same time, Madison returned to Gavin's side and leaned against the RV.

"Boss, why do you think that bastard driving the McLaren shot at us?"

"By all rights, he'd already gotten away. With the McLaren's speed, he could've left the zombies in the dust even without shooting at us."

"But that damn son of a bitch opened fire anyway. I saw the Tyrannosaurus's passenger side get shot through... Hm?"

Madison froze mid-sentence, then couldn't help glancing at Eugene.

"Wait, the Tyrannosaurus's passenger side got shot through. How did Eugene survive?"

"Haha! A suicide attack in the Middle East couldn't kill me. You think some random asshole could?"

Still sprawled across the engine, Eugene wiggled his butt at Madison. Madison spat to the side.

Gavin frowned and replied calmly, "I've never been reluctant to assume the worst of human nature, so I don't think there's anything strange about it."

"We weren't the ones attacking him. Who knows what the hell he was thinking at the time?"

"Maybe he and that woman in the red dress were getting busy, and our gunfire interrupted them, so he got mad at us."

"Maybe he'd finally found a place to hide in the villa district, but our gunfire stirred up the zombies and forced him to fight his way out, so he took revenge on us."

"Maybe Red Dress Woman was his daughter. Maybe he was a daddy's girl kind of guy, afraid we'd catch up and make him watch while we had our way with her."

"Or maybe he was just born rotten and decided to leave us, a group of unknown pursuers, behind in the Rich District with the zombies so he could escape more safely."

At that, Gavin grinned.

"Don't waste time wondering why. Someone like that had to die. We're alive, he's dead. Isn't that the best outcome?"

After speaking, he couldn't help pursing his lips.

After that car chase and shootout, he was a little thirsty. Maybe he should grab a Coke.

Just then, Winnie came over to Gavin with a powder-pink cup in her hands.

"Boss, try this! My mom just made some coffee!"

As she spoke, Winnie held the coffee out to Gavin.

Gavin glanced at the cup. Sure enough, it had a Hello Kitty print on it, just like that little Luger pistol.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and asked, "That's not your mom's cup, is it?"

"Of course not. It's mine. Cute, right?"

Winnie adorably held the cup out toward Gavin.

Seeing that, Gavin relaxed.

So the precocious little kid wasn't trying to set him up with her mom.

Gavin wasn't remotely interested in a woman like Doris, who was nearly fifty. Even if she wasn't quite fifty, she had to be at least forty-six or forty-seven.

He'd had plenty of women and didn't find her appealing at all.

Taking the cup, he sipped the warm coffee and looked into the distance.

What a beautiful view.

This road connected the rich district of Coskana to Coskana International Airport. For nearly nine kilometers, it stretched flat and unobstructed.

All you could see was the calm waters of Halbert Lake on the left and the Wildlife Park on the right.

It was February, and the park's grasslands were nowhere near as beautiful as they were in spring or summer.

But their incomparable vastness still brought a contented smile to Gavin's face.

A few Texas wolves were chasing a small herd of bison across the open plain.

Beautiful.

Gavin's smile widened.

Because those weren't zombie wolves, and those weren't zombie bison.

While Gavin was drinking his coffee, Eugene emerged from the Tyrannosaurus's engine compartment and announced with a hearty laugh, "All fixed. There's nothing wrong with the engine. We just need to get the foreign object out."

He walked over to Gavin, glanced at the coffee, and snapped at Winnie, "Hey, kid. Didn't you see I just survived a shootout too? How come I didn't get any coffee?"

"Quit whining. Everyone'll get some. You see me with a cup yet?"

Madison seized his chance to snap at Eugene. Eugene laughed and walked over to him, leaning against the RV as he teased him.

After the two exchanged a few words, Doris brought over more coffee and handed a cup to each of them.

Savoring the warm coffee, Eugene called out to William, who was examining the bodies in the distance.

"William, come have some coffee! Don't always miss out on the good stuff!"

"Okay, I'll be right there."

William said he'd be quick, and he really was. In less than a minute, he returned carrying two packets of Rock Candy.

Showing them to Gavin, William said, "Gavin, it's clear the driver had a history of drug use. He might've just had some not long ago."

"Oh, fuck. No wonder he was like a war god. He was a Doped War God..."

Gavin couldn't help swearing. He'd actually been trying to figure out why a guy who was high as a kite had shot at him. Add that to the list of pointless thoughts!

After Gavin cursed, Madison couldn't help rolling his eyes too.

"So he was a junkie. That explains everything!"

Making a funny face with his massive features, he continued, "Who could expect someone that high to follow the rules?"

"Let alone firing off two magazines at us while already making his getaway."

"Even if he'd run into the middle of the road, dropped his pants, and started jerking off while exchanging fire with the zombies, I wouldn't have thought it was strange!"

"Haha..."

Madison's words made everyone laugh. Even Winnie laughed until her chubby cheeks turned red.

Texas wasn't Florida, but every state in America had at least a little Florida in it.

Hearing everyone laugh, William couldn't help chuckling too.

But after that brief laugh, something seemed to come to mind, and his eyes suddenly stung.

Holding back his emotions, he turned and started to throw the Rock Candy onto the roadside.

Noticing what William was doing, Gavin thought for a moment, then suddenly raised a hand.

"Wait, don't throw it away yet!"

"What?"

Gavin's words made William turn around in disbelief.

Holding up the Rock Candy, he shouted at Gavin in shock, "Bullshit! You're the cowboy god in my eyes. Don't tell me you use this crap too?"

The instant William finished speaking, everyone stared at Gavin in astonishment.

Meeting their gazes, Gavin waved them off in annoyance and cursed, "Get the hell out of here. I'm not that pathetic. I don't need Rock Candy to get my dopamine fix. I don't even touch weed."

"I just think drugs might come in handy if we hold on to them."

"For example, if we ever need to crack someone's lips and get some important information, but they refuse to talk no matter what..."

"Then I figure we could give them some Rock Candy and keep them hooked for a while. Chances are, the information we want will come out eventually~"